Endgame- a review

After applying via Bloggers Require, I was sent a copy of Endgame (The calling) to review. I’ve attached the trailer herewarning contains flashing images.

So first the spiel. Endgame what is it about?

Endgame is real. Endgame is now. Endgame has begun.

TWELVE METEORS | TWELVE ANCIENT LINES | TWELVE PLAYERS

Our world is populated by twelve ancient bloodlines. In each line a player comes of

age and trains for a catastrophic event that has not yet happened. Each Player is

steeped in tradition and skilled in ways to kill. But no one has had to fight yet – until

the Calling.

Now the Players must set off on a scavenger hunt that will span the globe, all in search of three ancient keys that will save not only their bloodline but the world.

The twelve ancient cultures were chosen millennia ago to represent humanity in Endgame, a global game that will decide the fate of humankind. Endgame has always been a possibility, but never a reality, until now. Twelve meteorites have just struck Earth, each meteorite containing a message for a Player who has been trained for this moment. At stake for the Players: saving their bloodline, as well as the fate of the world. And only one can win.

The author is a fan of Kit Williams and his book Masquerade which contained clues to the location of a beautiful jewelled rabbit, causing masses of people to join in a nationwide treasure hunt. Read more about this (real!) event here.

This is the first book that I am aware of since then, that has so many tie-ins and on a variety of platforms. Google Niantic is building a mobile location-based augmented reality videogame inextricably tied to the books and mythology, a major prize will be tied to a puzzle in each book, and Twentieth Century Fox has bought the movie rights.

A real-life treasure hunt, challenging our abilities to problem solve, research and reason.

Your mission? Read the Books. Find the Clues. Solve the Puzzle.

Question is, who will win?

So what did I think of the book itself?

I really enjoyed it. It was fast paced, interesting and unpredictable (expect for one character). I liked the diversity of it’s characters, the Players come from across the globe, from different races and have different skill sets. The books layout is unusual as the chapters are very short, quite often only a page or half a page, before a new one starts. There are also lots of numbers and clues (linking to the puzzle aspect), which are interesting (in all honestly I’m not great at puzzles!). The characters well written and realistic, even though there actions were often shocking (think hunger Games levels of violence) the descriptions were so well done that it never felt glorified.

I’m greatly looking forward to the next book in the titles, and finding what happens next.